84% of banks and retailers plan to invest in mobile payment technology

The “overwhelming majority” of financial institutions and retailers are currently investing or planning to invest in new payment technologies within the next 18 to 24 months, with online (86%) and mobile payment technologies (84%) topping the list, a survey by payments provider ACI and IT consultants Ovum has found.

The four-part Global Payments Insight study, based on the responses of more than 1,100 executives representing banks, retailers and billing organisations across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, reveals that credit (87%) and debit (82%) cards remain the most widely accepted payment tools, followed by cash (74%).

EMEA (39%) and Asia (37%) lead the way when it comes to acceptance of contactless payments, with mobile payment acceptance coming in at 18% on average globally.

Despite a high level of concern over security surrounding new payment technologies, actual awareness and interest in dedicated payment security technology remains low, the survey finds, with 22% of respondents stating they have never heard of tokenization, while 37% state they have no plans to deploy it.

The research also finds that banks are seen as the “most capable” providers in helping to offer new payment technologies such as contactless cards (67%), mobile apps (45%) and QR codes (48%). However, banks are at risk of losing market share to payment specialists, telecom providers and large software companies, the survey warns.

“The survey shows clearly that banks still play a major part in the payments ecosystem,” says Paul Thomalla, senior vice president of ACI Worldwide EMEA. “The majority of consumers still trust banks as the key enablers and providers of payments.

“However, time is of the essence. There are many new entrants waiting to get off the block. In order to emerge as winners in the new payments world, banks must not only embrace new technologies, they must understand that the requirements and interactions with consumers and businesses are changing.”